British actor Jude Law, nominated for a best actor Academy Award for his film Cold Mountain, said his American rival, Sean Penn, deserved to win the Oscar for his performance in Mystic River.
Law told a news conference at the Berlin Film Festival, where the Civil War epic was being screened, that he wouldn't want to bet on the outcome of the voting by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, but felt Penn was the best of the lot.
"I'm probably shooting myself in the foot here," Law said, when asked who he would bet on to win.
"In my opinion, I've always loved Sean Penn's work. He's someone respected and looked up to and admired for years and years and years. I think it should be his year, personally."
Also in the running for the best actor award are Ben Kingsley for House of Sand and Fog, Bill Murray for the low-budget Lost in Translation, and Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Law also said he was open to any offers to play the James Bond character should an approach be made. When told by a Swedish journalist that her newspaper had voted him as their favourite choice to be the next James Bond, he replied: "I'd have to wait until the offer came.
"In the past I've been a little bit reluctant to play roles that would label me as one particular personality or character. But having said that I'm getting older, and who knows? I know my kids would love it."
Herald Feature: The Oscars
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